Last May Geeks Are Sexy reported that anyone with access to your computer could access passwords stored in Google’s Chrome browser with just a few mouse clicks. When the story inexplicably resurfaced in several Twitter posts this morning, it was time to call Google and find out why they hadn’t fixed the perceived glitch.
The Geeks Are Sexy post showed how users could find passwords that are saved to for websites that require a log-in in the “Manage Passwords Section” of the “Personal Stuff” tab under ” Preferences” in Chrome. The passwords initially appear to be blocked out but can be revealed by clicking on the account and then clicking a “Show” button.
Google spokesperson Lily Lin was just as surprised as we were to see the issue popping up on Twitter today, and described it as an “age-old” issue that had created a philisophical divide between users who “want one master password” and Chrome developers who fear giving them such a feature will “give users a false sense of security.”
Lin said developers had debated some sort of added layer of password protection but ultimately decided that doing so may make users complacent when it comes to protecting their passwords.
“Now please, people, calm down. I only posted this to point out a ‘possible’ security problem to those who were not aware of it,” Geeks Are Sexy reported at the time. “Now let’s all take a deep breath and see this post for what it is: a simple warning.”
Lin went one step better.
“If someone gets access to your device, it’s going to be easy for them to gain access to your passwords….we tell our users if this concerns them they just have to select ‘never save passwords’ and they will never have to worry about it,” said Lin who, for the record, doesn’t let Chrome store her passwords and logins.
